Those fine young ladies (I'm guessing vet students or vet techs) are pregnancy testing the cows...it's a little hard standing around waiting for the cow to pee on a stick in order to find out if the artifical insemination worked! If she's pregnant, great. If the technician can't feel a enlarged uterus, the cow will be impregnated again since that's the way we get that jug of white stuff that goes so well with Oreos sitting in your fridge. Heh-heh.

^^ Actually, I looked a little closer at the picture and I think they are doing the insemination, if that rod in her right hand is any indication. At least she's got the right attitude because a day of facing cow butts is no picnic!

Yes they are breeding the cow "Holstein Cow" by means of artificial insemination (A.I.). That is what the little rod you see in her other hand is for, to place the semen through the cervix. There are various methods to determine that the cow is in "heat" or ready to be bred. One would be to palpate the ovaries in much the same way they are doing in this picture (rectal palpation). There are other methods to determine that the cow is showing visible signs of heat. This is also the same method of determing pregnancy (rectal palpation). You can determine how far along a cow is with pregnancy and determine when the calf would be born. These are standard animal science practices and pose little discomfort or stress on the cows if done properly.